{"id":12999,"date":"2026-11-10T17:24:04","date_gmt":"2026-11-10T17:24:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/correllfirm.com\/resources\/commercial-vehicle-accidents-virginia-guide\/commercial-truck-driver-hours-of-service-crash-virginia\/"},"modified":"2026-11-10T17:56:47","modified_gmt":"2026-11-10T17:56:47","slug":"commercial-truck-driver-hours-of-service-crash-virginia","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/correllfirm.com\/resources\/commercial-vehicle-accidents-virginia-guide\/commercial-truck-driver-hours-of-service-crash-virginia\/","title":{"rendered":"Virginia Truck Driver Hours: How Many Hours Can They Drive?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Truck Accidents | Virginia<\/p>

Virginia Truck Driver Hours: How Many Hours Can They Drive?<\/h1>

Hours-of-service limits shape how long a driver can stay on the road, and the records behind them can become important after a serious crash.<\/p>

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Published November 10, 2026<\/p>\n\n

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After a serious truck crash, one of the first questions is often how long the driver had been working. Federal rules set those limits. For most property-carrying drivers, the rule allows up to 11 hours of driving inside a 14-hour window that starts after 10 consecutive hours off duty. Under federal hours-of-service rules (49 CFR 395.1<\/a>), adverse driving conditions can allow a driver to extend the run by up to two additional hours when they keep the driver from safely completing it within the normal maximum. A driver generally has to stop for a 30-minute break once more than 8 hours of driving time have passed, unless an exception listed in 49 CFR 395.1<\/a> applies. The break requirement itself appears in 49 CFR 395.3(a)(3)(ii)<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This page explains those limits in plain terms. It also covers how hours are recorded and how that information fits into a crash investigation on Virginia roads. Following the hours rules does not settle who caused a crash. The facts of each crash do that.<\/p>\n

The short answer: federal driving-hour limits<\/h2>\n

Under 49 C.F.R. \u00a7 395.3<\/a>, a driver of a property-carrying commercial motor vehicle must first take a 10-hour off-duty break at the start of a shift, may not drive after 14 consecutive hours from coming on duty following that break, may drive no more than 11 hours within that 14-hour window, and, except for certain short-haul drivers, may not drive once more than 8 hours of driving time have passed without a consecutive 30-minute interruption in driving status. Federal hours-of-service limits for commercial drivers are set out in 49 CFR 395.3<\/a>.<\/p>\n